EmailThe initial claims level increased from an upwardly revised 357,000 (from 353,000) for the week ending July 21 to 365,000 for the week ending July 28. That was exactly what the Briefing.com consensus expected. The initial claims level remains biased from poor seasonal adjustment factors surrounding the motor vehicle sector. In July, motor vehicle manufacturers normally shut down for model year retooling. With stronger-than-expected sales growth, many manufacturers opted to not shut down this year and continue production.
This should be the last report that suffers from the bias. The continuing claims level fell from an upwardly revised 3.291 mln (from 3.287 mln) for the week ending July 14 to 3.272 mln for the week ending July 21. The consensus expected the continuing claims level to increase to 3.298 mln.
